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    The Five Solas of the Reformation
    The Five Solas of the Reformation
    The Five Solas of the Reformation
    Ebook86 pages1 hour

    The Five Solas of the Reformation

    By Andy McIlree

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    About this ebook

    Five centuries after Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of a Catholic church, is there still a need for reformation? Yes, the Reformers' 'Five Solas' - Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, the Glory of God Alone - should be engraved on all our hearts, and the need could hardly be greater for them to be nailed to the doors of today's shallow churches today that are in danger of "being destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHayes Press
    Release dateFeb 20, 2019
    ISBN9781386484561
    The Five Solas of the Reformation
    Author

    Andy McIlree

    Andy was born in Glasgow, Scotland,  He came to know the Lord in 1954, and was baptized in 1958. He is married to Anna, and he lives in Kilmacolm, Scotland.  They have two daughters and one son.  He entered into full-time service in 1976 with the churches of God (www.churchesofgod.info).  He has engaged in an itinerant ministry in western countries and has been privileged to serve the Lord in India and Myanmar (formerly Burma).

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      Book preview

      The Five Solas of the Reformation - Andy McIlree

      Chapter One: Introduction

      When Martin Luther‘s hammer drummed on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on 31st October 1517, the sound of nailing his Ninety-five Theses (see Appendix 1) to it thundered through the Vatican and echoed all the way to the ears of Pope Leo X. At that moment, the accompanying lightning strike lit up the dark religious sky, and heralded the dawn of Christian recovery that has continued for over five hundred years. It’s a day that should be etched on every Christian’s heart and mind with a real sense of indebtedness. Luther’s theses, which roundly condemned beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, were timely for it was in the same year, 1517, that Pope Leo offered indulgences to everyone who donated money for the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

      There’s no doubt that this triggered Luther’s response and gave him further justification to include No.28 of his theses which says, It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone. It seems that his choice of words was an intentional echo of an exaggerated announcement made by Johann Tetzel, a Dominican Friar, who promised, As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs.

      Sadly, this kind of thinking wasn’t left behind five centuries ago, for it actually reared its head, and for a very different reason, toward the middle of 2018. Pope Francis gave a similar promise of plenary indulgences, meaning a reduced time in Purgatory as punishment for sins.  The announcement from the Vatican was clear: Catholics who participate in the World Meeting of Families in Dublin or pray with their families during the August 21 to 26 event can receive a plenary indulgence. The statement went on to say, So that the faithful prepare spiritually to participate in the event in the best way, His Holiness Pope Francis willingly concedes the gift of indulgences. The decree was released on May 22 by the Vatican Dicastery (1) for Laity, the Family and Life and reported in the Catholic Herald on 24th May 2018.

      Three and a half years of turmoil followed Luther’s action of impaling his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door, and on 17th April 1521 he was summoned to face the charge of heresy at the Diet of Worms in Germany. His speech was eloquent, bold and uncompromising (see Appendix 2). On his way back to Wittenberg, he was ‘kidnapped’ by the arrangement of his defender, Frederick the Wise, and taken to Wartburg Castle where he began his work of translating the New Testament from Greek into the German language, and completing it in eleven weeks. Taking full advantage of the printing press, he had it ready for distribution ten months later in 1522, and the whole Bible was available in 1534. This was yet another challenge to the claims of the Roman Catholic Church that the Bible is not self-sufficient and does not determine its own contents, vouch for its own inspiration, or interpret itself.

      Pope Leo X restated this by saying, No person shall preach without the permission of his Superior. All preachers shall explain the Gospel according to the Fathers. They believed the Bible is God’s gift to the Church, which is its custodian and authoritative interpreter. By contrast, Luther and the Reformers were of the view that God’s Word should be in the hands of the people, that Scripture is its own interpreter, and that the Spirit of God would be their Teacher. It was in the belief that they should be reliant on Him that the Reformation held firmly to the first cry of the Five Solas – Sōlā Scrīptūrā.

      Five centuries later, is there still a need for reformation? Yes, definitely. Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses could still be nailed to the doors of the Vatican, the Reformers’ Five Solas should be engraved on all our hearts, and the need could hardly be greater for them to be nailed to the doors of many churches. There is so much shallowness in Christian churches, and they are in danger of going into captivity and are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Isa.5:13; Hos.4:6).

      (1) A dicastery (from Greek δικαστήριον, law-court, from δικαστής, judge/juror) is a department of the Roman Curia, the administration of the Holy See through which the pope directs the Roman Catholic Church.

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      Chapter Two: Sōlā Scrīptūrā – Scripture Alone

      In days of spiritual darkness and weakness, the five Solas of the Reformation were intended to be seen as shafts of light and pillars of biblical strength, with their stability and glory reflecting great truths from the Epistle to the Romans. It was vital to the Reformers that the inspired Word and their clarion calls would go inseparably together, and we begin our journey through the different aspects of truth they so preciously recovered with their five objectives in mind. To help us do this, we do well to look first at Hebrews chapter nine, verses nine and ten.  

      The writer had been discussing the glories of the Lord Jesus entering the Holy Place and contrasting it with the Old Testament service with its sacrifices and offerings that pointed forward to Him. Then he emphasised its importance by saying:

      It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience – concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

      If we go back to chapter four verse 12, we read God’s high estimation of Scripture:

      "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

      By combining these two portions, we are left in no doubt that it is the infallibility of divine revelation that forms and reforms how He should be served. As a keen searcher of God’s Word, Martin Luther knew that his objectors had no regard for New Covenant freedom and no appreciation of how God delivers those who trust in a different gospel (1) by reforming them through the gospel of Christ (2).

      If we take the five Solas that are identified with the Reformation, which began 500 years ago, we will see that Martin Luther was convicted and convinced that the service he had been performing as a monk was completely at odds with the Word of God. And so he drafted his ninety-five theses and made his way to the Castle Church in Wittenberg, which now takes his name as Lutherstadt Wittenberg, and nailed them to the door to

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